Standard Chartered launches in-app crypto trading in UAE
Standard Chartered has become the first international bank in the UAE to offer direct bitcoin and ether trading through its mobile app, following its onshore UAE entity receiving a full broker-dealer licence from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (Vara).
Customers can buy and sell the two cryptocurrencies using their existing bank accounts without needing a separate crypto wallet or transferring funds to another platform. Access is initially restricted to existing clients who qualify as professional investors and meet eligibility and suitability requirements.
"Dubai and the UAE have established a very forward-looking regulatory environment" that made it the right location for the bank's first global launch of this capability for individual clients, said Ayesha Abbas, managing director and head of affluent and wealth solutions for EMEA and the UAE. She described Dubai's internationally connected client base as one that "increasingly expects access to the most relevant investment opportunities."
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Muhammad Ali Bandial